Video game clips and old videos are flooding social media about Israel and Gaza

Israeli troop reinforcements take position at the border with Gaza in southern Israel on Monday. Social media and messaging apps have been flooded with false and out of context images since fighting started this weekend. Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images

National Public Radio
One viral video claims to show a Hamas fighter shooting down an Israeli helicopter — but it's a clip from the video game Arma 3. A video purporting to show an Israeli woman being attacked in Gaza was filmed in 2015 in Guatemala. An unverified voice message circulating on WhatsApp, along with the note "forwarded many times," says a military official has instructed Israelis to stock up on cash, fuel and groceries. Fake accounts posing as a BBC journalist and the Jerusalem Post newspaper spread false information widely before being suspended by X (formerly known as Twitter).

In the wake of Hamas' surprise attack on Israel and the escalation into war over the weekend, social media platforms and messaging apps are awash in viral rumors, misleading images and videos, and outright falsehoods, making it hard for people in Israel, Gaza and around the world seeking information and facts about the conflict.

Many online videos are being taken out of context or mischaracterized — a frequent occurrence in breaking news situations where interest is high but verified information is hard to come by. MORE